Blood and Love
by LightGoddessKalinda
Summary: Bulma's father is executed for capital crimes against Frieza's empire. She is taken in and raised by the Marilai people, known to the human race only as vampires. The rating is a precaution, I do not know how much inappropriate material I will include
1. Default Chapter

Blood and Love  
  
Greetings readers! The Light Goddess Kalinda is finally publishing on Fanfiction.net! My close friends and acquaintances that are already familiar with my work may find this surprising, considering my previous experiences with online publishing, but I have at last decided to give this another try. The following story is very much a work in progress and even I do not know exactly where this is going. All standard disclaimers apply to this story.  
Although I will admit that I sometimes draw my inspirations from other authors, nearly all ideas in this story are completely original. I will be more then willing to give credit to any source that I drew more then a line of material from.  
The Prologue will not be very long at all, you must pardon me. The rest of my chapters will be longer.  
And now without any further ado, the story. Prologue: Shadows in the Night  
  
Brand stood at his post near the foot of the hill, a cool breeze threatening to lull him into the deep sleep he so desperately desired. The night was clear and beautiful, but it was also warm and lulling. Brand's previous night's sleep had been interrupted by the screaming of his firstborn and he had nearly cried in self pity when he had learned that he had to work the night shift that day. The presence of human guards around the compound had never been a necessity before the arrival of Frieza and Brand found himself again cursing the lizard for ruining his planet's harmonious existence.  
To fight off his boredom and fatigue, Brand took a look around. A few feet up the paved road he could clearly make out the impressive gates of the Capsule Corporation Compound. Beyond those were the front lawn and finally the home of his employers, the owners and operators of the multi- billion dollar business. Turning back around, Brand failed to notice the figure darting through the shadows and toward the gate.  
As he shifted his weight from one leg to the other, Brand's thought's again wandered to Frieza. It was well known to the people of Earth that they had so far escaped relatively unscathed from the lizard's tyranny. Life had undoubtedly gotten harder, but it was nothing compared to the horror stories that had reached his people from visiting alien races.  
Brand turned around to face the gate swiftly as he felt something pass by him. Seeing nothing, Brand shook the feeling away. It had only been for an instant, but he could have sworn he had felt something. Clearing his head, he returned to his musings as he faced the road.  
Frieza himself had yet to visit the planet and had so far made relatively few demands. The more intelligent minds on the planet knew this would not last, and that was why Brand was guarding the Briefs.  
Dr. Briefs was one of the leading members of the human resistance and was already at work designing weapons to fight the lizard. Normal security measures using machines simply were no longer adequate. Word would most certainly have reached Frieza of a resistance on Earth, and Dr. Briefs' hand in it would be easy to see. Frieza would likely send someone to punish Dr. Briefs soon and the Doctor was determined to have enough warning to help his family escape. To where, Brand didn't know. Rumor had it that a secret human colony had even been set up and that the population of Earth was slowly being moved, but Brand himself had seen no evidence of this. It was most likely a rumor fueled to give hope to the populace, but it was still nice to believe that there was a place where people lived free from the atmosphere of fear that surrounded Earth.  
Glancing around again, Brand realized he must have been more tired then he had originally surmised. It appeared that the gate to the Compound was in a different position then he had remembered. It was preposterous of course. There was no way anyone could have gotten past him that quickly and passed through the gate without him seeing. They would have tripped the alarm, or at least made a noise. A feat like the one he was thinking of would have been downright...  
Inhuman.  
  
Slinking through the halls of the Briefs home was something Shadow was well suited to do, but that didn't mean she was enjoying it. Being in such close proximity to so many warm bodies was intoxicating, and she found her patience with her own weakness wearing thin. She had been ordered to not be seen or leave any evidence of her presence, or she might simply have pulled one of the humans aside and taken what she needed. That guard had been a particular test of her will. She had passed within a centimeter of him and she could still smell him faintly. It had been a mistake to come without feeding first, she could tell that now.  
She moved up the hallway with an inhuman speed, easily dodging robots and cameras alike, until she finally found what she had been looking for. The source had been right; the family was still up talking in the living room. She could distinctly hear the voices of the Doctor and his wife, but the child was either silent or no longer in the room. Shadow nearly cursed when she probed about with her mind and discovered that the girl was nowhere to be found. Perhaps Briefs had already sent her into hiding. The thought was not very comforting. The mission would be considered a failure unless the whole Briefs family could be found.  
Shadow leapt silently onto the wall and climbed to the ceiling. She braced herself in a corner above the doorframe where she was certain she would not be seen, then she began her mental search for the child. The Gods must have finally been smiling down on her, because she could sense the approach of a small girl that could only be the daughter of Doctor Briefs. Smiling, Shadow waited. It couldn't be long now...  
  
Bulma Briefs was not a girl given to nightmares. In her eight years she had only had a handful, and those had never been bad enough to drive her to seek out her parents. Bulma possessed a very good amount of logic for a little girl, and she could usually work out for herself that whatever had plagued her in sleep was not going to follow her into reality. However, this last dream had seemed different. Shadows had reached out to grab her and take her from her parents, blood had splashed all about and creatures had fought over it like dogs over a bone. There had been darkness and screams and above all, fear. Nightmares this vivid had never come to Bulma before, and she was ill equipped to deal with them on her own. That was why she was seeking her parents at this late hour, she wanted her mother's soft reassurances and her father's strong embrace. She would not feel safe until she was in them again.  
As Bulma rounded the corner that would lead her to the family room, she immediately senses that something was amiss. The feel of the hall was different, as though something there did not belong. She looked around for the source of her discomfort, but she could find no reason for her disquiet. She turned around and back down the hall cautiously, thinking that whatever she was sensing might come at her from behind. She never saw the Shadow descend upon her, and she never knew what it was that made her vision suddenly go black. 


	2. The Scaffold

Blood and Love  
  
Just a note, '' denotes thoughts. Warnings: Cussing, and it is NOT mild.  
Sorry this is shorter then I had intended, real life keeps demanding my attention.

Chapter 1: The Scaffold  
  
Shadow careful lifted the child from the floor in front of her and congratulated herself on putting her to sleep so successfully. Children's minds were generally easier to lull then that of adults, but it was still an imprecise art when one was not touching the victim. She paused for a minute to inspect the girl. Bulma was bigger then Shadow remembered her. She was now wearing a pink nightgown a size too small for her with lace about her throat. Her blue hair had grown out considerably and her face was prettier. Briefly Shadow wondered if Bulma's eyes were still the same stunning shade of aquamarine that they had been upon her visit, then she headed toward the door of the room she knew Briefs was occupying. She would be a beautiful woman, Shadow could already tell. She silently prayed to the Blood God that the girl would live to see maturity before pushing such morbid thoughts out of her head and pushing the door open.  
Shadow carried the unconscious child into the well-lit family room of the Briefs family. Dr. Briefs, a middle aged man of short stature and premature wrinkles, instantly leapt out of his overstuffed armchair and rushed over to take his child out of Shadow's arms. Bulma had inherited her odd coloring from her father. He had fading purple hair and light skin around the same shade of his offspring's. While the huge glasses on his face hid them, his eyes were a light shade of gray. Dr. Briefs' honest face was now clouded over with a worried expression as he struggled with the urge to demand to know what had happened to his daughter. Shadow's warning look was enough to silence him. He had known the woman long enough to understand that it was not wise to cross her. Dr. Briefs' wife, Blondie, was not so wise as her husband however. She instantly began earnest inquisitions into why her daughter was being carried around in the middle of the night. Blondie had clear blue eyes a few shades darker then her daughter's, along with a full figure and long blonde hair. Blondie looked to be a great deal younger then her spouse, but the difference between them was not nearly as great as their appearances suggested.  
Shadow sat herself down in one of the more stiff chairs in the room and watched with sad eyes as Blondie and the Doctor checked the condition of their child. Finally, she cleared her throat. They turned to face her, but there was obvious dread in their countenances. Shadow steeled herself for the unpleasant task ahead. "It's happened." She said plainly.  
The reactions were not as severe as she had expected. Instead of the panic she had thought she would see, the Briefs appeared to have gained strength from finally coming face to face with their greatest fears.  
Dr. Briefs broke the silence. "Can you save my family?"  
Shadow had been expecting this question, so she was ready to meet his steady gaze with her own deep brown eyes when she gave her reply. "Bulma. I can save Bulma. They won't let me save anyone else. I have no excuse as to why I would want to keep Blondie alive and requesting to save you would be ludicrous. I can take Bulma with me when I leave this world, but I can't take anyone else."  
Dr. Briefs' eyes widened in shock as the full weight of that statement came upon him. "You mean..." His voice shook with emotion and it took him a minute to regain his composure. "You mean it's not just us? It's the whole planet?"  
Shadow nodded. "You and a few others are to be made an example of, but the whole planet is about to get a makeover. They plan to kill at least a third of the population."  
Dr. Briefs sat down heavily. He looked like the very essence of weariness as he buried his head in his hands and tried to fathom what was about to become of his people. "What did we do?" He croaked feebly in a broken voice.  
"Nothing." Shadow said simply. And it was true. She had seen it many times during her service to Frieza; sometimes he just felt like purging a planet.  
"And what does Makearre say about this?" Some of Dr. Briefs' resolve seemed to be returning to him.  
"You know that we won't break our contract over this planet. Our people have agreed to trade with Frieza and provide him with fighters. He pays us a certain amount and leaves us alone. We have it very good right now only because of Frieza's fear of a war with my people. Why do you think I didn't just walk in the front door? Frieza has been very trusting with my race so far because he knows how lucrative the contract has been for us. If he sees that we are trying to help you..." Shadow felt a brief flicker of shame at Dr. Briefs' reproachful face. "We have to take care of ourselves. We are trying to help, and we can't do much of that if we are engaged in a full scale war with Frieza." She finished. Shadow knew that nothing would excuse her people's 'deal with the devil' in the eyes of the Briefs family, and trying to explain further would be pointless.  
"You said you could save Bulma." Blondie finally spoke up from her spot on the couch and Shadow turned slightly to face her.  
"Are you familiar with the tradition of taking pets?"   
  
Blondie was staring at Shadow in a kind of horrified fascination. "You call that... Taking a pet?" She said numbly.  
Dr. Briefs had recovered much quicker then his wife. "So... You provide for her, keep her safe, and in return she serves you?" Shadow nodded. "And then... When she's reached full maturity... You either eat her or make her like you?" Dr. Briefs looked sick. Either fate was not particularly appealing for his child. To become a vampire, or a vampire's meal.  
"I am not saying that there are no other options, I am only saying that those are the usual outcomes."  
"And just what else would you plan to do? Feed her to someone else?" Blondie demanded before her husband could find a more gentle way to phrase it.  
"I could release her from our contract, but that would mean I would no longer be allowed to see her. She would need a comfortable life situation..." Shadow's attention was suddenly diverted by the sound of the clock chiming. It was one in the morning. "Enough of this. Briefs, do you want her to live or not?"  
Dr. Briefs hesitated for a fraction of a second before nodding firmly, his eyes locked on his still sleeping child. "Take her." He spoke in voice broken from emotion. As he watched Bulma sleep, the full weight of what was happening to his world finally came to him, and he began to cry.  
Shadow gave the man a minute, but there were other things to attend to, and time was short. "We will need your technology to get as many off world as possible."  
Blondie's eyes sparkled with tears as she voiced the question both had dreaded to ask. "How long have we got?"  
"About six hours."   
  
Bulma Shadowchild awoke with a start, sweat pouring down her face as the harsh voice on the intercom demanded to know where she was. Cursing, Bulma threw the sheets covering her body away as she ran to get her comm device from the table a few feet away.  
"Where the fuck have you been?" Screamed the agitated man on the other end.  
"I was taking my sleeping hour!" Bulma screamed back, in no mood to be trifled with.  
"Sleeping hour?! It's fucking 1800 hours! Is an hour on your planet longer then the ones on this ship? Get you ass down here!!! Shadow's about to blow the fucking lab apart!"  
"Shit!" Bulma cursed as she checked the clock on her wall and realized she had overslept by two hours. Still cursing, she ran to the bathroom and began to simultaneously brush her hair and teeth. She thought back on her nightmare for a minute. Her mother numb and disconnected, her father crying softly, and her pretending to be asleep as they discussed her future. It was nothing she didn't know already. Her parents had died for crimes against Freeza, a fact that Shadow claimed was some kind of badge of honor. Bulma saw no honor in it at all. Her parent's had been taken from her, the reason why seemed unimportant. Shadow had never told Bulma the exact method used to destroy them, and Bulma had never had the courage to ask. Shadow would probably have refused to tell anyway. She liked to hide unpleasant details from Bulma when it was at all possible.  
Bulma was snapped out of her reverie when the man on the comm began to shout again. Cursing for what seemed like the millionth time that day, she quickly pulled on some clean clothes and began a mad dash down the hall to the science lab she called her own.   
  
"Where have you been?" Shadow calmly demanded as Bulma made her grand entrance.  
Bulma stopped a second to catch her breath as she stood before the woman who had raised her for the last eighteen years. She hadn't aged a day. Her brown eyes still held the only hint of her age with their infinite knowledge and weariness. The rest of her, from her 5'5 slim frame to her high cheekbones and long thin nose revealed no sign of being any older then in her late twenties. She had pale skin and a thin mouth that seemed to always have one end turned up, as though she knew something the rest of the room was not privy to. She had jet black hair, long limbs and unusually small and delicate hands and feet. Shadow had an unusual sort of beauty that stemmed more from personality and expression then from her actual features. She was possessed of a great deal of poise and patience that Bulma was certain had taken her centuries to achieve, and her facial expression, while not blank, rarely revealed anything about what was going on inside of her mind. Bulma could feel her mentor inspecting her, taking in the disheveled state of her clothing and hair and her lack of makeup. When their eyes met, Bulma could tell that her master needed to response.  
"You overslept." Shadow stated without rancor or reproach. "How disappointing." She then turned back toward the monitor she was standing in front of and resumed her work. Bulma knew this was permission for her to get to work, but she couldn't resist poking some fun at Shadow's unusual response.  
"What, were you hoping they'd fried me?" She said jokingly.  
As usual, Shadow did not miss a beat. "It wouldn't have surprised me if they did."  
Bulma chuckled lightly and made her way over to her work station; ignoring the glares she was receiving from a few of her coworkers. She quickly spotted her tormentor from a few minutes ago. A young guard by the name of Quay was standing by the comm giving her one of the dirtiest looks she had ever received. Sighing, Bulma decided to save her revenge on him for later as she turned her brilliant mind toward the task in front of her.  
  
Bulma's childhood had been an interesting one. Her first new world after leaving Earth had been one of the vampire planets, an old world known as Pumar. It was there that Bulma had been declared a "pet", and the property of Shadow until such time as she saw fit to be rid of her. The people on that world had been new and frightening, but Bulma's inquisitive nature had prevented her from being as antisocial as her better judgment had told her to be. She had learned as much about the vampires as they would allow her to, but it was the way of vampires to save knowledge for age, and their secretive nature prevented her from learning any truly satisfying answers to her many questions.  
They had left Pumar when Bulma was ten, much to the child's dismay. She had grown affectionate relationships with several of the vampires on that world and it distressed her to think that she may never see them again. Shadow had tried to explain to Bulma the nature of the duty that took them back into Freeza's service, but she had ended up only confusing the girl and promising her a better explanation in a few years. Shadow had bounced through many minor jobs for Freeza during the next ten years, concentrating mainly on educating Bulma and developing the great amount of scientific talent she had inherited from her father. Finally the day had come that Shadow had requested a position in the tech department. Bulma knew the request had been on her behalf, but Shadow insisted that she had simply wanted a change in scenery. Bulma was grateful. Her job provided her with access to some of the best scientific equipment in the universe and as long as she didn't think too hard about what it was being used for, she found her work enjoyable.  
Bulma had learned long ago that vampires got preference over most of Freeza's soldiers and she had used that to her full advantage. She had gotten away with things on Freeza's ship that many people would have been killed for, such as sleeping late. Shadow was the only one Bulma really took orders from, her temperament when have it any other way.  
Bulma had lost her virginity when she was nineteen to a particularly persuasive vampire male who was trapped in the body of a seventeen year old boy. He must have been of some age; because his mind gift had been strong enough to seduce Bulma and convince her it was all her own idea. He had also taken a great deal of her blood, but he feared Shadow's retribution enough to control his hunger for the girl. He had parted with Bulma on good terms and she to this day held a degree of affection for him. Shadow had never told Bulma about the boy's deception. She was happier not knowing. People like Bulma were not meant to feel helpless; the shock alone would kill them. Besides, in a way the boy had done Shadow a favor. Bulma's deflowering had been a point of concern for Shadow for years before the incident. Some vampires had a notorious appetite for virgins and Bulma's innocence had made her an easy target. The girl had only had a few encounters since then, but she was sufficiently experienced to take the edge off of a pervert's fantasy. At least as long as that pervert was looking for innocence.   
  
"We're WHAT?!" Bulma screamed in a pitch that was highly uncomfortable for Shadow, who winced slightly to let Bulma know she needed to take it down a notch.  
"We're being reassigned." Shadow stated simply. She was seated in a slightly overstuffed chair, but she still managed to make it seem as though she was seated on a throne.  
Bulma's face was turning a dark shade of red as she tried to control her temper. Her long blue hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail, with tendrils of it softening her face. Bulma was a flawless beauty, just as Shadow had known she would be. She had brilliant aquamarine eyes that a person could drown in if they weren't careful. She was tall, with a full womanly figure and full luscious lips. Unfortunately, Shadow found her beauty more of a hindrance then a help. Bulma attracted attention wherever she went and she loved it. The way she dressed didn't help. She never seemed to want to wear anything that didn't show off her great figure. She didn't seem to realize the danger of tempting Freeza's lusty men with her low cut shirts and flirtatious smile. Shadow sighed deeply, cutting off the beginnings of Bulma's protestations.  
"I do not have any control over this, so you can save your speech. If you really have a problem with this, Freezas a floor up, go request an audience with him."  
Bulma bit her lower lip, a habit she had when she was trying desperately not to say something. Finally, she bowed her head in submission. "I'm sorry." She said quietly.  
Shadow's eyes softened and she rose to go stand next to her young charge. Placing one hand on Bulma's shoulder, she cupped the girl's chin with the other and raised her face so that their eyes could meet. "It's alright. I'm sorry that this had to happen. Don't worry. Whatever this assignment, I will keep you safe." She spoke in a soft, affectionate voice that she reserved especially for Bulma. Bulma gave Shadow a small smile and proceeded to go into her room to pack.   
  
Later that night, Shadow awoke to hear someone moving around in her room. She knew instantly from the smell that it was Bulma, but before she could ask what the girl wanted, she felt Bulma crawl into bed with her. Smiling slightly, Shadow pulled Bulma into her arms and allowed sleep to claim her.  
  
"You summoned me Lord Freeza." 'You woke me up in the middle of a good dream, dragged me out of bed, and demanded to see me immediately Lord Freeza' Shadow mentally corrected herself as she knelt on the floor.  
The sick lizard was sitting on his throne with the same ugly look he always wore, seemingly pleased with Shadow's promptness. "Yes, I did. I have..." He paused for a minute, glaring into a glass of wine that he held in his left hand. "a small monkey problem."  
Shadow waited a minute for further information, but when it was not volunteered she was forced to ask for it. "Sir?" 'What in God's name are you talking about?'  
"You know already that you are being reassigned. Now you know where you are going. I have been unable to find a suitable ambassador to the planet Vegeta. Either through incompetence or cowardice, all of them have managed to fuck up their assignment. I have decided it is time to send in someone more skilled. With your qualifications, this should be an easy assignment for you. You leave in an hour, do you understand?"  
"Of course Lord Freeza." 'Crap! An HOUR?! Planet Vegeta!? I can't take Bulma there!'  
"Then you are dismissed."  
"Yes sir."  
Shadow exited the throne room as hastily as she could without arousing suspicion and then immediately proceeded to fly as fast as she could to her quarters, were Bulma should have been waiting for her.  
"Bulma!" She cried as she burst into their living area. A brief sweep with her mind and her nose told her that the girl wasn't there. "Damn it!" Shadow screamed in frustration as she took off down the hall, praying she could find the girl fast enough to meet her launch time.   
  
Bulma wandered the corridors of Freeza's ship, thinking about how it had come to feel like home in the time she had lived there. Of course, it was possible that she and Shadow were being reassigned on the ship, but it was unlikely. Shadow had rarely followed one position with another that was anywhere nearby. As Bulma meandered down the hall, she nearly crashed into a wall that had popped up in front of her. Tilting her head back, Bulma realized that the "wall" was in fact a man. An incredibly big man. He was bald and feral looking, and he was giving Bulma a nasty look.  
"Watch where you're going, and make way for the Prince of Vegeta." He said gruffly. His eyes were wandering all over her body, and for once Bulma found she was not enjoying the sensation.  
It took a second for Bulma's voice to come back, but when it did it came with a vengeance. "Watch where I'm going?! Why don't YOU watch where YOU'RE going? Who the hell do you think you are?"  
"Out of the way Nappa." Said a deep, sexy voice from behind the bald giant.  
"But Prince Vegeta..." Nappa began uncertainly. He never finished his statement, because a considerable shorter and sexier man then he pushed past him. He had coal black eyes and hair like flame, but that was all Bulma had time to take in. Bulma had a second to look at him before Shadow materialized in front of her.  
"Ah, Prince Vegeta." Shadow said without missing a beat. "I have just been told that you are to accompany me to your homeworld."  
Vegeta gave Shadow a penetrating look. "So you're the ambassador?" Vegeta asked in a guarded tone.  
"Yes sire, I am." Shadow said, her voice betraying nothing.  
Vegeta's expression went from one of penetration to one of contempt. He was not impressed with her. Shadow almost smiled. No one had told him what she was. This was just too perfect. 


End file.
